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Thursday, 31 July 2014

WWII British Warplane (Wonky Spitfire?), Grafix

The elliptical wing design of the Spitfire fighter plane is probably the most recognisable silhouette of the any aircraft ever build. So with this in mind quite how Grafix, the manufacturer of this model kit, managed to screw this one up is a somewhat of a puzzle to me.

Box art - a promising start

Grafix does state somewhere that the model is based on the Spitfire, arguably the most famous and recognisable fighter of WWII. The box art, shown above, would indicate that quite a detailed model was enclosed but having made the Mustang model from the same company I was expected a relatively simple kit. Once I started to make the kit I noticed something was obviously wrong with the wings - as you will hopefully be able to see from the photos.

Mmm..there's something not quite right with this.

Because the way the wings (solid one piece casting) are made, with asymmetric fitting lugs and holes, it is only possible to fit them as shown but didn't stop me from initially thinking I was going mad, "Surely this can't be right" I thought "the wings can't have been made backwards? can they?"

Whoops

As the kit is so simple, less than a dozen parts, I didn't initially look at the instructions but when I fished them out of the box I realised someone at Grafix had made an awful error. The wings are definitely modeled on backwards. Even the instruction sheet shows the wrong profile.

You may also notice if you read the instructions that they have even managed to get this wrong as well. If you follow the instructions to the letter you won't be able to fit the propeller properly to enable it to spin, which as every schoolboy knows is the only way to make a model. I would have loved to have been a fly-on-the wall at Grafix when someone pointed out the design mistake.

As I was laughing too hard to complete the model I decided to stop it there. I may try and convert it into a retro sci-fi fighter but that will be a project for the future.

Unlike the Mustang piece I previously made, which is quite acceptable in terms of shape, this is sadly a missed opportunity for a perfect pocket money model of a Spitfire.